Culture Trip: How A Former Shrink Found Millennial Travel Success

What do you remember most fondly? The exotic spices you tasted in the market, the stirring conversations shared at the dive bar, or the sweet perfume of flowers wafting gently across the beach?

Annoyingly for travel businesses, these romantic qualities are not so easy to convey online.

This is why – when faced with a sea of dull travel sites, glossy stock images, and reviews from other ‘outsiders’ – psychiatrist Kris Naudts decided to ditch medicine and pursue ‘global storytelling’ instead.

In 2011 the British entrepreneur started Culture Trip, an online travel publication designed to be as stimulating to read if you were going on holiday, as if you were stuck at home.

Think Condé Nast Traveler, but inclusive of younger audiences who aren’t so fussed about luxury – or “Lonely Planet as it might be created in the 21st century”, as Simon Calder of the BBC’s Travel Show puts it.

For young professionals today, holidays on the other side of the world have become the affordable norm, Calder tells Forbes. &nbsp;&nbsp;

An awareness of the millennial lust for real authentic experiences, and a savvy social media-first approach, says Naudts.

All its wide-ranging content – about food, art, music, books, film and design – is produced by 300+ paid contributors living locally around the world, and delivered in a diverse array of articles, photos, videos, illustrations and animation.

One person might read Culture Trip content for pure entertainment, another might use it to plan their next trip, or to look for things to do where they live.

“I want our users to feel inspired and connected,” says Naudts. “Our vision for the Culture Trip is to bring the world to everyone, and in doing so bring us all closer together.”

Photo courtesy of Culture Trip.

Culture Trip’s app layout.

A business in boom

Culture Trip raised its first significant round of funding ($20m) just over a year ago. This allowed the company to grow its workforce of 12 to more than 150 today.

But Naudts says has to act smart to cut into the&nbsp;“cluttered and highly competitive” travel industry, he says.

“We’ve constantly got to make sure we’re offering users something unique and compelling – not just in our content but in the tech behind it,” he adds.

This has included developing AI tools for the site (so that unlike a traditional guidebook, you can personalize your travel content to your individual preferences) and investing in top class developers and product managers to keep readers coming back.

The businessman says that his former career as a psychiatrist means he has “a knack of spotting brilliant people” and convincing them to work for him, while his science background has given him an analytical edge when it comes to number-crunching.

All this is vital given that all Culture Trip content is free to access, with sponsored content and advertising propping up the business. (Naudts says he’s now also testing top secret “innovative business models” too).

The future for Culture Trip

Today Culture Trip is in the midst of its second funding round, with a view to have 400-500 permanent employees, and 1,000 contributors in a year’s time.

In the next year you might see virtual and augmented reality on the platform, says Naudts. He’s even considering the possibility of TV production.

And after that?

“I want the business to continue its global hyper growth and innovate,” says Naudts. “We might acquire some additional companies, there could be an IPO… it’s hard to predict but we have some exciting and challenging years ahead for sure.”

Who else is dreaming of their next ‘Culture Trip’ already?

“>

Photo courtesy of Culture Trip.

Kris Naudts, founder and CEO at Culture Trip.

Think about your favorite holidays.

What do you remember most fondly? The exotic spices you tasted in the market, the stirring conversations shared at the dive bar, or the sweet perfume of flowers wafting gently across the beach?

Annoyingly for travel businesses, these romantic qualities are not so easy to convey online.

This is why – when faced with a sea of dull travel sites, glossy stock images, and reviews from other ‘outsiders’ – psychiatrist Kris Naudts decided to ditch medicine and pursue ‘global storytelling’ instead.

In 2011 the British entrepreneur started Culture Trip, an online travel publication designed to be as stimulating to read if you were going on holiday, as if you were stuck at home.

Think Condé Nast Traveler, but inclusive of younger audiences who aren’t so fussed about luxury – or “Lonely Planet as it might be created in the 21st century”, as Simon Calder of the BBC’s Travel Show puts it.

For young professionals today, holidays on the other side of the world have become the affordable norm, Calder tells Forbes.

An awareness of the millennial lust for real authentic experiences, and a savvy social media-first approach, says Naudts.

All its wide-ranging content – about food, art, music, books, film and design – is produced by 300+ paid contributors living locally around the world, and delivered in a diverse array of articles, photos, videos, illustrations and animation.

One person might read Culture Trip content for pure entertainment, another might use it to plan their next trip, or to look for things to do where they live.

“I want our users to feel inspired and connected,” says Naudts. “Our vision for the Culture Trip is to bring the world to everyone, and in doing so bring us all closer together.”

Photo courtesy of Culture Trip.

Culture Trip’s app layout.

A business in boom

Culture Trip raised its first significant round of funding ($20m) just over a year ago. This allowed the company to grow its workforce of 12 to more than 150 today.

But Naudts says has to act smart to cut into the “cluttered and highly competitive” travel industry, he says.

“We’ve constantly got to make sure we’re offering users something unique and compelling – not just in our content but in the tech behind it,” he adds.

This has included developing AI tools for the site (so that unlike a traditional guidebook, you can personalize your travel content to your individual preferences) and investing in top class developers and product managers to keep readers coming back.

The businessman says that his former career as a psychiatrist means he has “a knack of spotting brilliant people” and convincing them to work for him, while his science background has given him an analytical edge when it comes to number-crunching.

All this is vital given that all Culture Trip content is free to access, with sponsored content and advertising propping up the business. (Naudts says he’s now also testing top secret “innovative business models” too).

The future for Culture Trip

Today Culture Trip is in the midst of its second funding round, with a view to have 400-500 permanent employees, and 1,000 contributors in a year’s time.

In the next year you might see virtual and augmented reality on the platform, says Naudts. He’s even considering the possibility of TV production.

And after that?

“I want the business to continue its global hyper growth and innovate,” says Naudts. “We might acquire some additional companies, there could be an IPO… it’s hard to predict but we have some exciting and challenging years ahead for sure.”